An Okehampton chartered accountants is urging local businesses to act now to absorb Budget changes before they come into force next April.

Sole traders and small firms across West Devon should start planning now for tax changes announced in yesterday's Budget, according to Okehampton chartered accountancy MBC Accountants.

The Chancellor, John Healey, held the rates of income tax, National Insurance and VAT. But changes to mileage rates, equipment allowances, Business Asset Disposal Relief and the tax on savings and rental income take effect from April 2027.

Ed Squire, founder of MBC Accountants, said: "The headlines say not much has changed. For a builder covering 15,000 miles a year, or a director thinking about selling up in a few years, quite a lot has. The people who plan this winter will be in a far better place come April."

● Business rates: from April 2027, shops, pubs, cafés and salons in England with a rateable value up to £18,000 (up from £12,000) pay no business rates.

● Mileage: the 55p tax-free rate for the first 10,000 business miles is now permanent, and the rate above 10,000 miles rises from 25p to 35p from April 2027.

● Equipment: the first-year allowance on main-rate equipment rises from 40% to 50% from 1 January 2027, and the yearly writing-down allowance falls to 12% from April 2027.

● Selling a business: the lifetime limit for Business Asset Disposal Relief halves from £1 million to £500,000 from April 2027.

● Staff: the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rise by 3.9%.

● Savings and rental income: tax rates rise by a further two percentage points from April 2027, on top of the rise announced last year.

● Tax bills: from April 2029, payments on account become smaller and more regular instead of two large lump sums.

Ed added: "Okehampton runs on sole traders and small family companies, and most of them hear from their accountant once a year, usually in January. That's too late to act on any of this. Sit down with whoever does your books before Christmas and ask one question: which of these changes touch me?"

Self-employed people on Making Tax Digital also have their next quarterly update due on Saturday, November 7.